Homemade Prickly Pear Sauce, Minus a few Stickers!

For the first time in several years I picked fresh Prickly Pear fruit. As I drove up the rural ranch road out in Uvalde County I was struck by the colorful "tunas" dotting the tops of the Prickly Pear. Considering the number of cactus plants I saw, it is no wonder I was compelled to pick 10 pounds of Prickly Pear Tunas so I could make Prickly Pear Sauce. This prickly pear sauce recipe a friend gave to me years ago. It was from a cookbook he had with old recipes from Mexico. I've also found it several times since then on websites & in several cookbooks. It can be easily increased.

The Prickly Pear fruits are very sweet/tart.  Depending on the level of ripeness the sweet factor can be more to the tart side. When I lived in Mexico the street vendors used to peel the fruits & sell bags of them for about 20 pesos.  Considering the areas I see Prickly Pear growing in Texas & across the Southwest there is no end to harvesting opportunities. Be cautious though; as I picked the fruit out in rural Uvalde County my mother mentioned that rats liked to build nests at the bottom of Prickly Pear Patches which also tend to attract snakes.  The morning I picked the fruit last Monday I noticed a nest almost 4 feet wide at the base of one of the Prickly Pear.  I was alert & walked very carefully.  Seriously, I thought: "no snake will cheat me out of a Prickly Pear Sauce".  I was also of the mindset if that proved wrong I could sprint quickly without spilling too many fruits!!

To harvest  Cactus fruit  wear heavy-duty protective gloves.

Some of the health benefits associated with prickly pear:
Immune support
Diabetes
Obesity
Helps manage cholesterol

Some of the nutrients found in prickly pear cactus:
Flavonoids | Pectin | Vitamin A | Vitamin B | Vitamin C
Once peeled the Prickly Pear can be eaten either fresh, frozen, or cooked as I have into a sauce which makes a nice marinade, basis for a colorful salad dressing or my personal fave: add a colorful kick to a margarita.  The raw fruit tastes somewhere between kiwi or strawberry with a slight acidic tang.(Use gloves & tongs to handle the fresh tunas & when all else fails pick those tiny stickers out with tweezers. The times I have handled the tunas I've always had a few get into my finger tips.)

Prickly Pear Sauce also adds a tangy kick to Margaritas!

Nopal (Prickly Pear) Sauce

*16 fresh prickly pears
*1/2 Cup sugar
*1 Tbs. lime juice
*1 Tbs. orange liqueur

Remove rind from prickly pears by cutting off both ends and running a slice down both sides. If ripe, the rind will pull off easily. Chop prickly pear into 1-inch pieces and place in a blender. Blend on medium-high until you have a puree. Strain through a cheesecloth or a food mill, this will remove almost all of the tiny stone like seeds. Reserve both the juice and puree. Put 2 cups of the prickly pear juice in a medium-sized saucepan with the sugar. Cook over medium heat until mixture is reduced by half. Remove from heat. Add 1 cup of pureed prickly pear, the lime juice & orange (or lemon) liqueur. Stir well. Refrigerate for 4 hours before serving. **Once we reduced the sauce by half & it thickened slightely it was put into pint canning jars & processed in a water bath for 15 min.

Keeping Cool with Los Cocos Fruit Ceviche

Summer heat is setting records in 2011

 The scorching sun has sent the summer temperatures well over 100 for more than 41 days, only considered cool in a "I survived that kind of way",  I'm all for prepping meals with little or no oven time right now. To heck with conventional cooking, please don't turn up the heat.  The Summer of 2011 could almost be considered the Summer of Ceviche for our family. We've had many endless variety in this popular Latin American dish. This fruity Ceviche version is named after one of my favorite Fruiteria stands in Monterrey Mexico. I've only had fruit cups there at Los Cocos but if they had a Ceviche with fruit it would taste  something like my version. Make a Ceviche with whatever seafood is on hand and be liberal with choice of fruits. Ceviche is typically made from fresh raw fish marinated in citrus juices & spiced with chili peppers. Our family enjoys Ceviche & it seems like the perfect way to cool things down at the end of a long hot day. Follow it with a crisp wine or cold Mexican beer & it's a meal. Salute!

Los Cocos Fruit Ceviche
1 pound medium-size raw shrimp, shelled and veined

1 red or yellow bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup diced yellow onion
1 jalapeno, minced
1/2cup lime juice, divided in half
3 tbsp ketchup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 cup melon, cubed
1 avocado, diced
2 kiwi fruit, skinned & diced
1 cup pineapple diced, juice reserved
1 orange, cut in sections and diced, juice reserved
Salt and pepper**

Directions

Blanch the shrimp in boiling water until no longer translucent, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain & quickly cool down in iced water. (Chill shrimp approx 30 min)

Combine the shrimp, red or yellow pepper, cilantro, jalapeno, and 1/4 c.lime juice in a large bowl. Refrigerate, covered, for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Drain off most of the liquid.

Whisk together the olive oil, ketchup, all citrus juice, and cilantro. Pour over shrimp and add diced avocado, melon, (add all fruits at this time), orange pieces &  pineapple. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.**Fruit juices are natural tenderizing agents so remember to prepare approx. what will be consumed in given meal.  The shrimp tend to keep tenderizing with the fruit juices & become mushy in more than 24 hrs.

It's Officially National Pi Day!

Four & Twenty Blackbirds

3/14, 3.14: The Celebration of ratio of the circumference of a circle or Hold that Pie Chart....what better reason to celebrate the Glorious Pie? Really, do we need a reason?? Apparently the House of Representatives made it officially Pi Day & they never make mistakes do they? Check out the Wikipedia Pi Day link! Why did the photo of the Pi guy make me smile?


What about that blackbird pie poem from childhood?  Pie has been national past time for literally centuries, there are volumes written, childhood poems glorifying them but the end result is still the same. One of my daughters likes to call the fruit pies: "hot mushy fruit". Whether you enjoy a creamy custard or hearty apple pie it can be a satisfying experience paired with a cup of coffee & lingering conversation.  It may not sound exciting but no dessert brings back memories for me like a family pie recipe. Having said that I thought I'd share a quick Fresh Blueberry Pie which had even the least likely of pie fans at our home eating this pie & wanting seconds.Our blueberries have been so delicious here. I've been buying those pints of berries & eating them over yogurt & cereal more often than not however they are perfect for sauces & desserts. Hope you enjoyed your Pi Day!

Fresh Texas Blueberries

Fresh Blueberry Pie
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2/3 cup water
4 cups fresh blueberries
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon Con Olio Lemon Balsamic Vinegar
1 teaspoon melted butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons equal parts sugar & cinnamon
17.3 oz box of Puff Pastry, thawed, 2 sheets
In a saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch, stir in water. Bring to a boil; stirring constantly, boil for 1 minute. Add blueberries, lemon juice & vinegar. Line a lightly buttered deep dish (9 inch) pie pan with 1 puff pastry sheet. Pour blueberry mixture into the crust then layer the top of the fruit with the second layer of puff pastry, loosely fold both crust at the edge to loosely seal the edges. Lightly crimp drizzle melted butter & sprinkle with sugar & cinnamon. Bake at 425° for 25 to 30 minutes, or until lightly browned. Enjoy!

Need more diversity in your pie?

Sing a song of sixpence a pocket full of rye,
Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie.
When the pie was opened the birds began to sing,
Oh wasn't that a dainty dish to set before the king?
The king was in his counting house counting out his money,
The queen was in the parlor eating bread and honey
The maid was in the garden hanging out the clothes,
When down came a blackbird and pecked off her nose!

(**eeks! Not certain why this poem make it into the bedtime repertoire of so many children.)

Summer Pico, New Blog & Cooking Inspirations~

Food & Family have close connections in our home~












After a Summer of rushing about, having company & life in general I am very much behind the curve with my blog. I have had much
time during the off-blog time to get together with Bytes from Texas & come up with a mother daughter blogging adventure. We love Farmers Markets & enjoy cooking with garden fresh ingredients we find on our jaunts around the state of Texas. What could be more appropriate than a dual adventure through cyber Foodie world? We named our blog....(drum roll please!!)
Fresh from the Heart of Texas. We thought it most relevant given our location. We will both continue to keep our original blogs posting (from whence it all originated) & just do some postings now & again on the new one when the mood strikes us! In the meantime this summer we have been experimenting with cool recipes from new foods we find. Both of my daughters tend to inspire me in different directions however this one challenges me in the kitchen in more ways than one. She was trying to cook as early as 6 yrs old when she would come in early on Saturday mornings & let me know she had "made something for she & her sister". She was well known back in the day for her microwave breakfast specials. (microwave is the only thing I allowed her to use when Mom was not in the room) She has surpassed herself as a cook and as a young woman & I am so proud of her along with her blogging adventures. Little sister is even heading in the blogger direction. Seems like it has taken hold of our entire family.
We have a contact locally who is growing Thai melons. The flavors are somewhere between cantaloupe & honeydew melon. The Thai melons ripen very quickly from farm to table & my guess is we don't see many of these melons in the grocery store because they would soften quickly & ruin. I am inspired when I see some new veggie or fruit I have never tried to use it in some fun recipe which really makes the flavors pop & the senses come to life. Hope you give it a try & enjoy the new blog~ Fresh from the Heart of Texas from our life into yours.

Mango & Melon Pico de Gallo
1 Mango, peeled, cut off the seed & diced
1 cup of Melon (honeydew or cantaloupe fine), seeded, skinned & diced
1 grapefruit, sectioned & chopped
2 fresh jalapenos, cut into 1/4 in. strips
1/4 cup onion, sliced
2 green onions, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 sprig of fresh lemon thyme, leaves only (1/4 tsp)

Combine melon, mango, grapefruit, onions, jalapeno strips & toss with oil & lime juice. Add salt to taste & lemon thyme. Marinate for 3-4 hours in refrigerator. Serve over fish or chicken. I show mine served over Talapia (my fillet was disappointingly thin & frail) but it would be even better over a more sturdy fish filet such as Amber Jack or Tuna. Buen Provecho~

Dehydrating Fruits & Strawberry Scones

Dehydrated doesn't mean dried out. Quite the opposite actually while preserved/dried foods from the grocery store might contain additives like sulfites, you can eliminate that issue completely by dehydrating food at home. Always the kitchen gadget fiend I was thrilled to be gifted with a dehydrator for Christmas. Fruit & produce dried at low settings, loses almost none of its nutritional value. We are fond of fresh & dehydrated mangoes so naturally it was my first fruit of choice to stick into the dehydrator. Great as that was just like anyone with a new toy we have now dehydrated strawberries & kiwis too! Just like a Ronco commercial..."but no, that's not all". We have also made a round of jerky in the fun new machine. While it would be easy to snack on all of our goodies I did manage to make up a batch of scones with the dehydrated strawberries we had recently made.





















Strawberry Scones
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
5 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup chopped dehydrated strawberries
1 tablespoon half-and-half
Colored sugar crystals

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a bowl, whisk together flour, 5 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 2/3 cup half-and-half until just moistened. Gently fold in dried strawberries.
On a lightly floured surface, knead dough gently, 5 to 10 times. Pat into a 1-inch-thick round. Cut into 8 wedges; place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, 1/2 inches apart. Brush tops with remaining tablespoon half-and-half; sprinkle with about a tablespoon of colored sugar crystals. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.
Yield: 8 servings
This was based on a Martha Stewart recipe which used fresh currants, yum! I myself am a big fan but was looking for a suitable use for my dehydrated strawberries.

Summertime eats!

When company arrives South of the Border we try new things & dine on local flavors. This week we had an opportunity to try about 8 new taco flavors @ Tresa Arami's house. Her friend & neighbor served us all savory Mexican flavors from her new Catering menu. I believe my daughter was the first one to try each unique taco flavor. We also cooked some simple foods at home which left us time to visit, shop & sight see! Our current favorite is a Spicy Potato Pancake which is an adaptation from an Indian dish.



















Spicy Potato Pancakes
3 white potatoes, boiled whole in jackets
3 Tbsp. onion diced
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded & diced
3 Tbsp. Cilantro chopped
Salt & Pepper to taste
Olive Oil 2-3 Tbsp.
Grate up the potatoes, mix in all of the ingredients by hand & form small 2 1/2-3 inch cakes. Chill the potato cakes 30 min. Quickly brown on each side on medium heat in skillet with Olive Oil. Serve immediately.















Summertime Pineapple Salad
1/2 Pineapple, cored & diced
1 med. Cucumber, seeded & diced
1 med. Mango, seeded & diced
1 Lime, juiced
1 Tbsp. Chili flakes
3 Tbsp. loosely chopped Cilantro
Toss together, chill & serve.












**FYI~did you know that when you cut up that next pineapple you can plant the top & eventually have another pineapple? Pineapples are quite simply giving back when you plant that top!